A new international study has looked at the world's roading systems, and how carving into the land, could cause massive environmental problems.

The study, A global map of roadless areas and their conservation status, was pubslihed in the journal Science. The scientists used an open-source, citizen science database of global roads, and found that prolific road building had carved the Earth's land into 600,000 fragments, some of which are too small to support significant wildlife.

Dr Dominick A. DellaSala is president and chief scientist of the Geos Institute in Oregon and former president of the Society for Conservation Biology, North America.

Road building has carved the Earth’s land into 600,000 fragments. Photo: Photograph: P Ibisch et al/Science